Seated Liberty Dollar

1840 – 1873

The Seated Liberty Dollar was first minted in 1840. At that time the same obverse design was used for all U.S. silver coins. The design was created by Christian Gobrecht. The obverse features Lady Liberty sitting on a rock, in her right hand she holds the Union Shield inscribed with the word “LIBERTY” and in her left hand she holds a long staff,

The reverse side of the Seated Liberty Dollar features an eagle with the Union Shield across its breast. The eagle is holding an olive branch in its right talons and three arrows in its left talons. The words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” appear in an arc around the upper half of the coin and the words “ONE DOL.” at the bottom below the eagle.

The Seated Liberty Dollar was struck at four different mints; Philadelphia (No mintmark), Carson City – “CC”, New Orleans – O, and San Francisco – S. The mintmark can be found below the eagle’s talons on the reverse.

The most valuable specimens of the Seated Liberty Dollar is the 1870-S of which there are only around 15 known to exist and the 1851-O of which there is only one example known to exist. Strangely enough the 1851-O is not included in the Guidebook of United States Coins. Other extremely rare issues are 1851 (any mintmark), 1852, 1858, 1871-CC, 1872-CC and the 1873-CC. The 1858 was produced only as a proof restrike during the 1860s and 1870s and it is estimated that somewhere between 50 and 500 specimens of each of the 1871-CC, 1872-CC and 1873-CC still exist today.

Also of interest was the 1866 No Motto Seated Liberty Dollar which was struck sometime in the 1870s along with a No Motto half dollar and quarter. These were produced especially for one person and only two have been confirmed to exist. These No Motto coins are normally viewed as patterns.

During the Civil War (1861 to 1865) precious metals like silver and gold were scarce and so very little silver coins were produced during those years.

The Seated Liberty Dollar is a popular coin among type collectors, as it would be very difficult, if not impossible and extremely expensive to accumulate an entire set. The most readily available specimens are the 1871 and 1872 Philadelphia strikes.

Comments

hi there
just need a quick question answered; i have a sitting liberty coin? silver. without a date. and on the back side, it has a wreath in some kind of flowers, and in the center no. 1 then below that troy ounce,silver,999 i need to no what kind of coin it is. maybe a commeritive?
thanks red

Helo Richie What you have is not actually a coin. It is what is referred to as a Silver Round. A lot of different companies produce these silver bullion “coins” and their value is based upon the spot value of silver.

Hi. I have a silver dollar coin of Seating Liberty dated 1861 at the frond and with an eagle at the back with inscription of “one dol.’. How much is it worth nowadays? Also, at the front portion of the coin, there is a shield but I don’t seem to see the inscription “liberty”. Best regards and more power!

I have collected 20th century US coins and morgan dollars for a long time. Wanted to get a seated dollar as a type coin. Unfortunately there are very few seated dollars for sale in coin stores in my area regardless of date or condition? what happened to all the seated dollars? Mintage figures in the Red Book do not reflect the availability ?

good day i have two seated liberty silver dollar coins an 1859 and an 1871 the 1871 has no motto over the eagle .Can you tell me please if this is a rare occurance

The 1859 is a philadelphia mint as no letters appear under the eagle .Also with the 1871 no letter appears beneath the eagle .
i picked these two coins up whislt in iraq could give me an approximate value please .both are in reasonable condition .

Hi, I have a 1865 sitting liberty dollar. When I look in the book it stated the motto did not start until 1866, mine has the motto on it being 1865. I have not taken it to a coin shop yet, but it does have the liberty across the shield. I do not believe it is a fake, there is no signs that it is.

I have an 1861 seated liberty coin with no mint mark. The liberty side of the coin does not have a liberty banner on the Union Shield. Much of the detail on that side of the coin appears to be worn down but distinguishable.
What do I have?

HI I HAVE AN 1872 DOLLAR COIN WITH THE LIBERTY SEATED LOOKING TO YOUR RIGHT HAND SIDE ,AND IS SEATED IN A CIRCLE THAT IS SAID “LIBERTY” and in the back said ‘TRADE DOLLAR”420 GRAINC 900 FINE.
DOES ANYBODY KNOWS IF IT IS REAL AND HOW MUCH ITS WORTH? I’LL APRECIATE ANY ANSWER,,,,THAK YOU…EVERYBODY.

Hi I have a 1858 seated liberty dollar and the coin guide that I have says its worth about $3,200 if it is a proof only. I read the article above but I am still confused. Is the coin worth that much? How do I tell if it is a proof?

I have a 1856 seated liberty dolar that has has cc on the back is that possible i can’t find any info about this coin all the replicas i have looked at an ebay and want not either have a motto or no motto but nun have the cc proof mark on the back

Hello. A bum offered to sell me an1845 Liberty Seated with clear “liberty” across the shield, the words “one doll.” and a “cc” inscribed under the feet of the eagle. Additionally, the coin says’ “in God we trust” above the eagle. He wanted $10.00. I know nothing about coins, but believe I may have seen an ad on TV for some kind of coins. I offered him $4.00. It is in pretty good shape. If I can get $10.00 I’d be happy, but if it’s worth more, I will go back and give the bum more than he was asking. A lot more. My wife thinks it’s a fake. Thanks

I was in a souk in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and bought a number of Seated LIberty no motto dollars. They appear authentic.. However, one is 1840 with an obverse CC mint mark. I don’t believe Carson City was open then. Could some older coins have been restruck at Carson City or is this some type of fake?

Also have an 1848 with CC and an 1864 with CC.

Paid minimal price but am curious if fakes, reproductions or restrikes have surfaced in the Persian Gulf.

I have a 1848 seated liberty dollar minted cc, i took it to a coin shop and the guy said because a magnet stuck to it that showed it was fake. Is that true? If not what would be approximate value of coin.

My brother found an 1877 Seated Liberty One Dollar coin in an old shop, and presented it to me as a gift. It looks like the coin presented here; Liberty is seated on a rock with her right hand on a shield and her left hand holding a staff and pennent. The reverse has an eagle clutching arrows and olives branches. There is no motto above the eagle’s head. I have found mint dates of 1840 – 1873 and 1836 – 1891. Which is correct? Also, if you flip Lady Liberty bottom to top, the Bald Eagle is upside down. Is this correct, shouldn’t the top of the obverse be the bottom of the reverse?

The Carson City mint was in operation from 1870 -1893 Any of these 1840-1850 CC marked coins are chinese fakes Also any coins bought in Iraq ,Saudi Arabia or pretty well any foreign country are guaranteed to be counterfeit worth only scrap metal value

I have a real 1871 seated silver dollar coin with two very small cc mintmark below the eagle. I took it to 3 different coin collectors and each one appraised differently ($250 to $500). I took the coin to another coin collector and he informed me that the coin is real but it was altered with the cc mintmark. He mentioned that the cc mintmark on the back are too small to be real 1871-CC. Based on his finding, does my coin has any value?

I have a seated liberty dated 1858, the back was smoothed off and has been engraved with a name, address, and date. I have assumed it to be a civil war dog tag since it also has a hole for a chain. Is there a value on this? Thanks

Ive got a 1858-O Seated Liberty Dollar. Im not a coin pro but it looks like its in good shape. Any idea of value? Can’t seem to find out details with my searches thus far.When i looked at the weight on the coins mine is 19.0g and it said on the net they should weigh 26.73

Wear and tear maybe? It HAS been a hundred-and-forty years since it was minted. It’s been handed a lot, is my guess. Silver is malleable. It is a medium metal. It WILL wear down. The coins’ Original weight at mint IS 26.73 grams. Subract silver content, which is 0.9, copper content 0.1 and there is 0.77344 oz. of pure silver. That is in original mint state though. So the question arises upon which metal diminishes faster. Chemistry. It is a guess, for me, to know which metal has worn off. I’m guessing the silver, if that much weight was lost. Anyone else know?

Actually silver seems to be stronger, maybe that’s why the copper was included. I am in Chemistry deadlock. I took Chemistry in college. But I majored in History. Help? Copper and Silver are in the middle-weights of metals. It makes sense that they were combined.

I have a copper coin with lady liberty on one side and an eagle holding a bell on the other and it says 200 yeras of liberty on the side of the eagle. I’ve tried to google this coin and although i find coins that similar to it, I cant seem to find the one i have. My coin has lady liberty standing still and the others have her walking. What is this coin?

Hello, I have 1 silver dollar 1871 the same as in picture above 1860 and also without ” in gods we trust” above the eagle, but year is 1871. Is it possible? because I’ve read this There was no mintage of 1871 dollars without the “in gods we trust”. could you please provide on your comments, thanks

I have a 1844 silver Liberty one dollar coin and was just wondering if anyone has any idea as 2 how much it might be worth??? u can still see all the liberty on her shield but some letters worn… can anyone tell me what a coin like this is worth please.

I have an 1853 Seated Liberty, no mint location shown (therefore Philadelphia?). It has good patina and isn’t cleaned. The side with the Liberty is more heavily worn smooth than the eagle side. There is no magnetic attraction and a coin diameter of 38mm. However the weight seems too low – 24.2g, whereas it should be 26.7g. Is this likely to be a fake?

I have a 1873 Unites States Of America One Dol. Coin the date 1873 has arrows either side and has the seated lady facing to the right but look over her shoulder holding a sword/axe and a shield which u can vaguely see the inscription “Liberty” . On the other side is the eagle and in a scroll at the top it says “in god we trust” can any one help me ? Would like to know if the coin is real?

I own a 1874 seated liberty dollar. Its mint mark is from Carson City. Im kind of curious about itand dont have any history on it.At the bottom of the coin its got TRADE DOLLAR. can you tell me a little about this coin.

Hello,
I have a 1867-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar. It is very shiny almost like it may have been cleaned at one point? There is literally no wear on the coin at all? It looks perfect except for the fact that you have to hold it on an angle to see the details because of the glare of the coin, its almost too shining? Also the coin feels really lite and sounds funny when it is taped against another coin. These issues make me think that this coin may be fake? I have examined it over and over again and everything is perfect on it except for the above mentioned concerns. I know that all replicas are stamped with copy markings, so I am confused as to what I have?? Please let me know what you think and let me know if there is any good way to determine the authenticity of my coin??

hi, i have a 1877 seated liberty just like the pic at top of the page. under the eagles feet cc but it reads quar dol.when turning the coin over it look as if its up side down its in pretty good shape.can u telll me anything about this?howmuch its worth? thanks

Hi. I have a silver dollar coin of Seating Liberty dated 1844 -the lady is looking to the left holding a flag. On her right side her right hand is touching a shield which says very clearly liberty. On the other side of the coin, opposite is a picture of an eagle with the words ONE DOL. below it. There are no marking at all. so I am assuming this was minted in Phila. Everything is very clear to read, not worn at all. The only problem is there is a hole right below the ONE DOL. marking with a string going through this – as it must have been worn by someone. This has not been cleaned. Is this coin worth anything? Also, puting holes through coins – was this something they did back then.
Thank you so much.

Hi, I was checking through my grandads old coin collection, which i got when he passed away, and stumbled upon a “One dime, seated liberty 1876 marked CC. Anyone know if this is trash? or may be worth something, its not in the best shape, but not in the worst either Thanks!

I have a coin that has a seated liberty on the back and dated 1856. It seems to have been polished down and on the other side has an engraved etched star with the initials MF in the center. Not sure if this was a coin and turned into a trinkette. Or started out as a trinkette. Please offer any help.

hi i have an 1841 seated lady liberty dollar it is great looking slight minimal scrtaches do not believe it has ever been circulated has faint light wear on one side of chest much look hard its a great shiny silver color .. friend of mine passed who collected coins i have had this coin since 16 yrs old and i am now 44 .. he said it looked near proof but passed before he could help me find someone to grade this .. i am in philadelphia and south jersey and need help .. can also offer a picture please advise best gem

Looking for some info on a 1848-O Seated Liberty Dollar. Seems to be in XF condition. I can’t find anything other than 15,000 1848’s minted. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank-you very much. Jim

Some really good information here but I have a real problem I have 2 silver dollar coins dated1842 on the front it looks liked the seated type but here is where I am at a loss on the back it has and eagle with the words United States of America then the motto on top In God We Trust but then at the bottom it says One Dollar Not One Dol. like other 1842 coins I have seen and a o for mint mark but it is located above the D and O in Dollar what the heck do I have?? I have searched and have not found anything!! Help!!